Schumacher's 1998 Ferrari F300 up for Auction

The car that almost took Schumacher and Ferrari to the world championship and laid the groundwork for their dominance of Formula One is up for grabs at RM's London auction.

Though he may have fallen off pace since returning from retirement, in the decades immediately preceding and following the turn of the millennium, there were no drivers in Formula One like Michael Schumacher. After winning back-to-back world titles at Benetton (the team that later became Renault and now Lotus), Schumacher moved over to Scuderia Ferrari. It would take another few years before he'd win the title for the Italian team, but he came damn close in 1998. This is the car with which he did it, and if you've got the cash, it could be yours.

The 1998 Ferrari F300 packed a high-revving 3.0-liter V10, but despite inferior aerodynamics to Mika Hakkinen's McLaren, it still took six grand prix wins and finished on the podium in all but three races that season. Ultimately the F300 finished second in both the drivers' and constructors' championships - the best result the team had seen in years - and paved the way for the F399 that would take Ferrari to its first constructors' title in over a decade and a half. In the years since, this F300 was sold to a private owner and driven in Ferrari F1 Clienti events. Its engine was completely rebuilt in 2009 and has since covered only 666 km without incident.

RM Auctions has yet to release its pre-sale estimated price, but it will be hitting the auction block at London's Battersea Park on October 31, where it could prove a moneyed enthusiast's best chance to own a piece of Scuderia Ferrari history - and a damn fast one at that. (Photos by Tom Wood Courtesy of RM Auctions.)